Iowa State forward Nyamer Diew (1) drives to the basket ahead of Texas-Arlington forward Shyia Smith (34) during the second half of a first-round game in the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Ashley Joens scored a season-high 36 points and third-seeded Iowa State rallied to beat No. 14 seed UT Arlington 78-71 on Friday night in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
The Mavericks were bidding to be the first 14-seed to ever win a game in the tournament and led by 12 in the first half before the Cyclones (27-6) came back.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREEmily Ryan made a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 64 and followed with a layup to give the Cyclones the lead. Joens hit a 3-pointer that gave Iowa State a 73-67 cushion with 1:43 left and that was enough for Iowa State to avoid the upset.
Starr Jacobs finished with 19 points for the Mavericks (20-8).
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP UT Arlington shot 67 percent in the first quarter and jumped to a 22-14 lead. A 3-pointer by Camryn Hawkins gave the Mavericks a 29-18 advantage early in the second period. Katie Ferrell followed with another 3-pointer to make it 37-25.
Iowa State rallied a bit with a 7-0 run. Joens, who had a career-best 41 points against Wright State on Dec. 15, 2019, hit the Cyclones' first 3-pointer of the night, closing the gap to 39-35.
UT Arlington was up 41-35 at halftime. The Cyclones finally went on top when another Joens 3-pointer gave Iowa State a 49-48 edge with 4:34 left in the third quarter.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Joens and Ryan combined to score six points in the final minute of the period and Iowa State led 57-54 going into the fourth quarter.
HOME COURT
Iowa State now owns an all-time record of 12-5 when hosting a game at Hilton Coliseum. UT Arlington arrived Friday with an 0-2 record in the
NCAAs and had not beaten a Power Five school since November of 2019.
OFF-TARGET EARLY
Iowa State entered Friday's game shooting 38.9% from 3-point range, second-best in the nation. But the Cyclones missed their first eight attempts from behind the arc against UT Arlington.
STREAK CONTINUES
Fourteen seeds are now 0-109 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994. A 15 seed has also never won a game.
UP NEXT
Iowa State advances to play No. 6 seed Georgia in a second-round matchup on Sunday.
